Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction What did you do at your pond today?

Bill the bird probably thinks of you the same way.

Think it is a snowy egret, but I am no bird expert. Not worried about what its eating. My guess is that the easy pickings are frogs, but expect it is finding the smaller YP tasty as well. 50 or so (some nice) BG came to be fed at the old pond this morning as well. Finished off a multiyear project cutting grapes a 20+ acre block of woods. The Asian honeysuckle will not be so easy.

Mom says we got 4" of rain. We caught a break in the rain and walked to the pond. Threw out the feed and the feast was on. Fed them 6 cups and it was eaten in less than 5 minutes. These sunfish can really eat. I have also started trying to feed the little fish in a different area. I can't tell if they are BG or not, they are very small though. Mom diverts the big fish by feeding them as I'm on around the corner feeding the small ones.

Luckily, my water hasn't turned muddy from the rain. I'm not sure why because it sure did on the last flood we had.

I also have one of those snowy white herons everyday and shows up around feeding time making the cnbg an easier target. And I hope I get 4" of rain today at the farm, I could use it, pond is still down from full pool.

Scattered some more annual rye seed on the top and sides of the dam at the new pond. It's supposed to rain in an hour or so. I have a sparse stand already from the first seeding five weeks or so ago but it needs to be thicker.

Walked the flooded area down stream of my pond looking for stranded fish. Water is too muddy to see anything. Found one dead Bluegill in the weeds. Other than that I haven't seen anything else.

Well my bass are post spawn. All of the LMB I caught the last two days are post spawn. Looks like its time to see how they did.

Went fishing. Caught a number of BG and one CC I would guess 3#.

I need to cull several CC.

Best way to cull them is into grease, after cleaning.

Or now my wife likes her new air fryer that uses minimal grease.

I know, I know, your family does not like fish that well.

Cut them into thin strips like fish sticks or small bite size chunks, coat with a good fish coating mix with the flavors you like, and even non-fish eaters will think they are pretty tasty.

I'm not a big fish eater myself. But pond raised and artificial feed fed and the right flavored coating and we now eat quite a bit of fish and like it a lot.

RAH, your white colored heron type is a Great Egret, Ardea alba. Several of the larger wading birds (herons, egrets, others) come in white. The GBH, Ardea herodias, as a white morph is called a Great White Heron; it's only a color phase of the more common blue variety.
Then there is the Snowy Egret. It has yellow feet. There are cattle egrets, commonly seen in groups feeding in pastures with cows. The Reddish Egret has a white morph; the Little Blue Heron also.
What indicates your bird as the Great Egret is its black legs and feet, longish thin slightly downcurved bill, and relatively large mass.
Hope this helps.

Thank you for identifying the bird and for the how to do it! Is the light colored beak diagnostic as well?

RAH The beak color is only partially diagnostic in that some of the smaller heron/egrets may have dark bills or light bills or a combination of dark and light at different times of their lives. The white morph of the GBH has a yellow bill which is much heavier, thicker, straighter, and appears two toned in good light.
Adult GWHs, ie. white phase GBH, in spring have plumes on the back of their heads; the Great Egrets do not. The GWHs also have short plumes on their lower backs, sometimes hard to see, and the egrets have longer plumes there. These plume features are more readily apparent when the birds are on the ground rather than in the air.
Two guides I'd recommend are The Sibley Guide to Birds, a National Audubon book, and Complete Birds of North America from National Geographic.
Enjoy!
This reminds me of our trip down the Rio Lagartos (alligator river), on the northern shore of the Yucatan many years ago. One of our party jokingly would query our panga operator/guide about the flavor of each of the different bird species he was pointing out to us. "!Muy sabroso!" was his reply for every one. When he even answered that way for the roseate spoonbill, a bird that filter feeds in the muck, we KNEW he was full of it!

John,
We eat a lot of fish and the CC are headed to the grease! I think there is a list of friends that are always interested in our CC for grease releases!

We ended up pan frying a few of the larger (8"+) BG this past weekend as well. Quite tasty...We've released a few CC and BC to the grease a couple months back, but this is a first for the BG. What a treat. I've been needing to remove some fish and we haven't even put a dent in it. It'll be easier when the house is completed and we move out there.

Thanks again on the bird ID info.

I need to get to the lake! It's Crappie time!

You are quite welcome RAH.

I've been bird crazy since I hand caught a common redpoll in a snowstorm when I was 5 (back in the 50's). All birds, big or little, interest me.

Apparently that energy has been picked up by my Australian shepherd/border collie girl. She'll be at my side this coming Saturday when a big old tom turkey comes strutting in to my calls. At the shot, she'll be on him on a flash, administering the coup de' grace and starting the plucking process. This year I have a smart phone, so I'll attempt a video.

I really think her philosophy is that birds have wings, so they need to be using them. No GBHs or Canada geese stay on our pond once she spots them!

Restocked my pond 100 5-7" LMB and 50 10-12" HSB from Overton's

Our younger German Shepherd thinks that geese are not allowed and swims after them. I have had GS dogs all my life and this is the first one that does this trick. They all love to swim, but chasing geese in the water is new. Still not enough turkeys on my place to hunt, but they are building. Coyotes are thick, so they have a challenge. Both GS dogs think that the yotes have no right to be on our place and I am OK with that! We have a third GS dog on the way. My wife wants a pack, but I have only agreed to 4, and these need to be spread out over time so they don't all die together. We had 4 dogs die at 14 to 15 years old over the course of a year or so, and that was hard. Training is also easier when older trained dogs are around to set an example.

BrianL, ain't getting new fish great? It's always fun.

Those HSB will be fatties by fall, congrats.

Wife caught Mr. Whiskers on camera.

I'm starting to like our new air fryer as well...so called healthier foods worry me, since I've done pretty well for 56 years on sugar, caffeine and nicotine....Last thing I want, is to die healthy!

Got out to the pond just in time to watch them feed. Lots of smaller fish it seems. The pellets were consumed in less than 5 minutes. I may increase the feed times by another 25% tomorrow. Water temp was 75 degrees....a little elevated for this time of year normally.